BYRDSTOWN – An audit released today by the Tennessee Comptroller’s office highlights 19 separate areas of concern with accounting, bookkeeping and management practices within Pickett County government.
The findings are spread across different departments and 13 of the issues were identified in previous audits, but had not been sufficiently addressed by local officials, the state said.
These issues included deficiencies in budgeting and purchasing procedures, failure to report unclaimed funds and failure to deposit money collected in a timely fashion. There were also examples of inadequate internal safeguards, such as allowing employees to share computer user names and passwords and failing to adequately separate responsibilities for handling financial transactions.
“I am very concerned with the findings in this audit,” Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said. “Failing to follow good fundamental rules about generally-accepted accounting and management practices may seem to some people like a small thing – but those rules can significantly reduce the chances public funds will be wasted, misspent or stolen. I am also disappointed that this audit included so many findings that were identified in previous audits. I hope and expect Pickett County officials to take appropriate action to correct the problems our auditors have identified.”
